Wednesday, 27 July 2011

Back in the Real World

Once again I have returned from one of my globetrotting escapades. After a few days to decompress, I will be able to get back into the workshop. Work on the rocket motor will resume, as will regular postings to let you know what is going on.

Whilst I was away, I did some work on the design of the convergence and nozzle. The plan is to get it fabricated this time home. I will post the design equations for it in due course. I have also been thinking about an idea for a banjo type fitting that will be based on commonly available hardware. At the moment the design of the motor includes various BSP to Swagelok fittings. These are quite expensive, so if I could devise a means of replacing them it would be a definite plus.

Time permitting, you should also start to see a few postings regarding injection. I think this is the holy grail; whenever I find a new site devoted to rocket engine construction, my first thought is to find out what their injector is like. So in the next few weeks you'll be able to read about the design, evolution and testing of mine. An evolution that is still ongoing, I hasten to add.

Plenty there to keep me busy and to hopefully be of interest to the likeminded. Thank you for following and keep watching this space. I will endeavour to use the one between my ears.

About this blog

This blog describes the research, design and construction of a Liquid Rocket Engine.
As such it will include information regarding the design and construction of rocket engine components.
This will encompass theoretical and performance concerns, as well as machining, welding and manufacturing techniques used to overcome the various problems encountered.
In addition, my interests in this direction include control and data acquisition. So there will be posts regarding electronic systems and microcontrollers.
It is my hope that as well as being of interest to the rocket engine community, it should also become a repository of general amateur engineering information.
I was inspired to create a blog by the groundswell of interest that I have had in my project from people I have met. I have found that their reactions tend to go from perplexity to enthusiasm rapidly! The main question most people have is not to do with the technical obstacle to be overcome. Most of those who have asked me about my project have wanted to know "Why are you doing this?" So I will try to give some answers to this and to explore my motivation to think, research, create and construct.